Lincolnite

I’ll be the first to point out again that a franchise should not be confused with a chain.

In the case of a franchise, it’s generally a local person spending his or her own money on the American dream. The money comes from this economy and stays in this economy. The only difference between most local franchised restaurants and most local mom-n-pop’s is that the franchise owner has paid a fee to buy into what is hopefully a proven system. Why would one do that? To highly increase the liklihood of success.

With the specific example of 5 Guys, I can’t recall if this franchisee is from Lincoln or Omaha (or even elsewhere), but an opening like this should not be confused with a true “chain” such as Starbucks, Walmart, etc.

The people who own the one here are from Plattsmouth. I went Wednesday, and it was pretty busy. I got there right after it opened and had to wait in line about 10 minutes to order. By the time I got my food and left, the wait was more like 20 minutes. It was pretty good, but a little pricey.

The owners of the Lincoln’s 5 Guys is from Plattsmouth.  So yes, local owners hiring local employees. 

We did go to 5 Guys last night for dinner.  I was telling my husband that I was overjoyed that they moved into a building that had been boarded up for so long.  I wish them all the best and I’m sure the food will be very popular for many.

You’re right, the “chain vs. franchise” distinction is important. I wonder what the full range of possibilities would look like:

Local ownership > locally-owned franchise > national chain

It’s probably a lot more nuanced than that.

I think you are correct. I could write a book on the subject. It gets very confusing because the average person doesn’t usually know one from another. That’s the power of branding, I suppose.

For example… McDonalds is a franchise system. Yet, in Lincoln, they are all corporately owned - that would make them a chain I guess.

Starbucks is all chain - no franchising. But most people would guess that you can “buy” a Starbucks franchise. Not true.

I am sure there are examples of companies in Lincoln that we all think of as home-grown, when in reality they are not, and companies we think of as big chains from out of town that actually have local ownership.

It can get as confusing as the idea of American-made cars. People can frown that I own a Toyota, but it was made in the USA, while many of the Fords and Chevys on the road were made outside of the US. So which is the American-made car?

I don’t mean to bore anyone… LOL

Remember back when P street was changed into a two way street?  I was working at Crane River back then and our owners supported the switch and wanted us to wear stickers that said “All we are saying, is give P a chance”  The two way did not work out, but the effort to get P street more vibrant has worked well.

I hit five guys yesterday as well and was happy to enjoy their burgers once again.  It is a neat system they have going on there.  I got a bacon cheeseburger with mushrooms, a little cheeseburger for the wife, and a small fry for $12.81.  We could not finish the fries.  I am sure they will do quite well and I will be back a bunch.

In the LJS article they say if this one works out well they will open more in Lincoln.

I feel very fortunate to live near downtown.  Lots of entertainment choices, great local shops and food, farmers market, bike lanes and trails, and lots of people out enjoying it.  With the Arena it can only get better.  (Besides folks parking on my street)

I believe several (if not all) the KFCs in town are franchises as opposed to corporate owned, but I think the franchise owner is from Canada (and based there). So its not a situation that every franchise of a “chain” will have a truly local owner, but I do think its the general rule.

I’m also aware of the distinction because my sister in law is the general manager of a franchise-owned KFC, which generally speaking are better than the corporate owned ones.

Just came from lunch.

Burgers - bacon cheeseburger -
Excellent.  Everything fresh, cooked just right and tasty.  9/10.

Fries - absurd portion.  Surreal portion - like 3/4 of a pound.  If you go with a partner, split them.  If you go alone, count on disposing lots.  Not a big fries eater myself, but these tasted good, but a bit mushy for my tastes.  5/10.

Got the cheeseburger with everything. It’s actually a double cheeseburger.

Total was $10.35. That’s outside my comfort zone for a burger, but the amount of food was amazing. Peter’s right, it was an insane amount of fries. Next time I’ll go with a single (small) cheeseburger and split my fries with someone. I’ll also skip many of the toppings but I wanted to have it the Five Guys way first.

Good burger and good fries! Definitely worth trying out. Probably won’t sway me away from some local restaurants (not to be confused with the franchise/chain discussion), but still very good. I’ll go back.

Yeah, that total bums me out a bit.

I treated my dad to lunch at Five Guys today.  We both had cheeseburgers & split the enormous portion of fries.  He was amazed at the amount of people there - especially since neither of us has seen any advertising from them aside from word of mouth online. (It’s a good thing #LNK tweeps are foodies)

A little pricey, yes - but I think it’s cool that you can have all the toppings you want for no extra charge.  I half expected to see someone walk away with a handful of bacon on their burger.

LOL!  Now that the arena vote is over, it’s time to talk positively about Lincoln again!  It’s funny because for two years we were told that those things don’t exist and we could only get them with an arena. Now that Lincoln has voted for an arena that will be here in 3 years—poof!—Lincoln is a great place to be again with all these awesome options for entertainment and activities downtown!

Beerorkid talks positively about Lincoln most of the time.

Thanks Gene, you good people.

I would not want to live a live where I was only thinking about the negatives and being angry all the time.  Not saying that Dave is that way, but it seems to be tone of many of his replies.

Sending you internet huggles Dave.  If you want to get a dig back at me, say something positive.

Life is a garden, dig it.

I was disappointed to not see blue cheese for a topping :(  Oh sorry Beer.. was that to negative?

Awwwwww

It is a good topping for a burger.  Misty’s has a great one that is blackened.

Tried it here in Lincoln…exactly the same and Omaha.  My comment on the chain/franchise thing…One thing we all have to keep in mind…even if it is a horrible evil franchise or chain.  They do employ local people and pay local taxes so obviously a lot of that money gets pumped right back into lincoln.  Purchasing from a chain restaurant does not mean you are not pumping money into Lincoln. 

Also remember that when it comes to donations in Lincoln, some of our major donors and sponsors to local groups are huge chain companies, ie, Walmart, Marcus Theaters, etc.  I get a little tired of people always throwing stones at big businesses just for the shear fact that they did build a successful business model that we can all learn from.

That’s a good point Errand. Nothing wrong with supporting Lincoln businesses of any size and shape.

While I often prefer locally-born-and-bred businesses, the national chains/franchises are also often supportive of the community—as they should be.

Speaking of Crane River, what happened to them.  When I got transferred out of Lincoln in ‘98 they seemed to be going strong and when we came back in ‘06 they were gone.  Always loved them.  I am very surprised that Lincoln wasn’t able to support a second BrewPub.

Was not managed very well and was not profitable.  Investors lost on that bet.